Technical Field of the Disclosure
The present embodiment relates generally to compression screws employed to prepare animal feed products, such as dry grains, pellets, cubes, and tubs.
Description of the Related Art
In the field of animal feed processing, dried distiller grain (DDG) or dried distiller grain with solubles (DDGS) is a major feed source for farm livestock. This is due in part to the increased commercial interest in ethanol production. Generally, DDG and DDGS include an average 88% dry matter and 12% moisture. The dry matter is in the form of particulates formed from grinding grain kernels like corn during the process of producing ethanol from grain. Due to its chemical composition, particulates, typically, do not flow like liquids or melted plastics. Therefore, when compression screws are used to prepare the DDG or DDGS as animal feed, it typically does not flow through the flight geometry of the screws, because DDG and DDGS consist, on average, of 88% dry matter (particulates).
Farmers often use animal feed as part of a daily diet to provide energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins to livestock. These animal feed can be formed as grains, pellets, cubes, or tubs. In some conventional methods, the pellets, cubes or tubs are formed by compressing dried grains with the addition of binder materials or supplements that help the resulting product become dense and cohesive. Even with these additives, these animal feed products can fall apart or crumble. Thus, it may be desirable to produce a pellet, cube or tub having the highest protein and fat content, as naturally possible. A system and method is needed that produces a sufficiently dense animal feed product, such as pellets, cubes, and tubs, having the highest fat and protein content, without adding any binders, which are non-natural additives like molasses.
Some of the conventional animal feed producing methods require a heating or curing process applied to the product after it is formed in order to boil off the corn oil, which also lowers the protein level. Thus, there is a need to provide a method that does not require a heating or curing process after the pellet, cube, or tub is produced.
It may be desirable to provide a compression screw that is designed such that DDG or DDGS (dried grain) is capable of flowing through the screw geometry during the preparation process. It also may be desired to provide a compression screw system and method that produces animal feed in the form of grains, pellets, cubes or tubs, without the use of a heating or curing process. It may also be desirable to provide an animal feed producing system and method that does not use additives.